Local kids take big awards at Stark County Fair

The Stark County Junior Fair had a hero theme this year, and lots of locals will come back heroes.

Tatianna Varner, 18, of Louisville, had more than 10 animals at the Junior Fair this year and still managed to win three major titles.

She won Grand Champion for her lamb, Tony, in the Carcass Lamb category. She took the Reserve Champion title with Larry, the dairy steer. And she got another Reserve Champion title with her dairy carcass steer, whose name she couldn't remember.

And although she was working with so many animals she couldn't remember all of their names, Tatianna decided to add one more to the bunch.

"And I bought a bunny," she said.

Tatianna, who just started her freshman year at The University of Akron, said preparing for the Junior Fair is a nonstop job.

"You don't sleep," she said. "You wake up at four o'clock on the morning, and you don't go to sleep until midnight."

Jacob Shammo, 9, is a member of the Barnyard Bunch 4-H Club of Stark County, which operates out of Alliance.

Jacob is working with dairy feeders and dairy heifers this year. His heifer, Rocky, took first place in his class and third overall.

Jacob and his mother, Cary Shammo, said Rocky was the calmest he'd ever been when he was up for judging.

And that's surprising, since Rocky and Jacob had a little run-in earlier that day.

"He was grumpy," Jacob said. "I tripped over his foot, and he drug me down the barn."

Other big winners this year were Matthew Piechuta, a member of the Beech Creek 4-H Club of Lexington Township, who took Grand Champion in the Broiler Chicken category, and Lydia Beltz, a Washington Township Variety member, who took the Reserve Champion title in the same category.